_gestalt

_gestalt

_gestalt itself is a German word meaning something like form, whole, figure.

In English _gestalt refers to the concept where an entity’s properties cannot be discovered from the total properties of its parts. The more general English equivalents are synergy, holism, emergence, and variations on the phrase “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.

_gestalt effects in psychology of cognition refer to the form-forming capability of our senses. We see a square as a square, whether it is large or small, red or blue, in outline or technicolor…This is space form. Likewise, we hear a melody as recognizable, even if we alter the key in such a way that none of the notes are the same.

My CD _gestalt was released by the austrian experimental music label allquiet. It contains a collection of 10 tracks of experimental electronic music. The single tracks of this CD (all between 4 and 6 minutes in length) explore remains of song-like structures. Some of the pieces follow rather straight metrical structures and beats while others challenge melody fragments and relate within this frame to an expanded idea of ambient music.

The music on _gestalt is the result of a long process of computer based work. Most of the sounds used are electronic by nature although nearly all of the tracks also contain (micro) elements of instruments like guitar, bass or human voice. One of the goals of the composer/musician is to challenge the listener with the dense atmosphere of his music and seduce the audience to dive into a world of abstract structures of sounds and pulses.